I'm Bleeding
by kevin the bird
Summary: Charlie, Michael and Ben's daughter, has her first period!
1. Chapter 1

Charlie had no idea what was going on. When she went to the bathroom, the first thing she noticed was blood on her panties. She was only ten-years-old. She hadn't had The Talk yet, so she had no idea what was going on, so she started to freak out. What if she was dying? What if there was something terribly wrong with her?

After finishing up in the bathroom, Charlie exited said bathroom and went to find her grandmother. Seeing as she was the only woman there because it was only her parents, Michael and Ben, and her uncles Ted and Blake with their two-year-old daughter Olivia at Debbie's house, the once redheaded woman was the only one she felt comfortable enough to talk to about what was going on. When she found Debbie in the kitchen, talking to Blake, she quickly walked up to her.

"Grandma?" she asked, grabbing Debbie's attention. "Can I talk to you?" she asked. She avoided eye contact with Blake. She knew that Blake had no idea what was going on, but she was still embarrassed.

"Yeah, what's the matter, sweetie?" Debbie asked as she looked over at her granddaughter from the pot of spaghetti sauce she was making. She nervously looked between Blake and Debbie. Blake immediately got the hint.

"I'm going to go make sure Ted isn't boring anyone's ears off," he said as he left the room. Charlie looked visibly relieved when Blake left the room and Debbie noticed. Wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing, Debbie looked at her granddaughter worriedly.

"Is everything okay, honey?" she asked. Charlie looked flushed. She was worried about something, that much was obvious.

"I'm bleeding," she replied quietly. Debbie was surprised by that answer.

"Where are you bleeding?" she asked as she looked Charlie up and down, not seeing a single drop of blood.

"In between my legs," Charlie said, even quieter then before. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. She was clearly distraught about what was happening. Debbie couldn't help but to laugh in relief, which caught Charlie off guard.

"You've started your period, honey," Debbie replied. Charlie just looked up at Debbie, confused. She knew that once girls hit puberty, they could have babies, but she didn't realize that bleeding was part of that. No one had thought to give her The Talk yet, she was too young they had all figured. But her body was ready for womanhood.

"My period?" she asked, confusion lacing her voice. Debbie nodded her head in response.

"Yeah, it's just your body's way of letting you know you can have babies now," Debbie replied. "Have your daddies not told you about your period?" Debbie asked. Now it was her turn to be confused. She would have thought that they would tell Charlie what happened to a girl during puberty, but apparently not. Charlie just shook her head, indicating that they hadn't. "Why don't you go in the bathroom and I'll get you a few things, sweetheart," Debbie added. Charlie appreciated that her grandmother was going to help her with her period because she felt uncomfortable talking to her dads about it. Before doing as she was told, she asked Debbie one last thing.  
"You're not going to tell them, are you?" she asked. She was leaning more towards telling them herself when she felt more comfortable telling them.

"If you don't want me to," Debbie replied.  
"I think I want to tell them," Charlie said. Debbie smiled at the young girl.

"Okay, sweetie," Debbie said. That's when both women went their separate ways, Charlie going to the bathroom and Debbie walking towards the group of men in the living room. Even though Charlie had just told her not to tell her dads about starting her period, she figured she would anyways just to give them a heads up so they could start buying the necessary things. So when she walked up to where everyone was huddled, she called out to her son and son-in-law.

"Charlie just started her period," she said when she caught their attention. "She didn't want me to tell you two because she wanted to tell you herself, but I just wanted to give you two a heads up," she added. Both men looked at each other.

"We haven't even given her The Talk yet," Ben said. Debbie couldn't help but to laugh.

"Yeah, I figured that much out," she said. "I think she thought there was something wrong with her," Debbie added.

"Well, it's a good thing she had her grandma," Carl said, slurring his words. He then grabbed Debbie by her waist and pulled her in close. "That's why I married her," he added. "Because she's good at these things." Debbie immediately knew that Carl was drunk.

"Would you guys stop feeding him alcohol?" she asked. She couldn't help but to laugh because she had only seen the man drunk a handful of times.

"He seems fine to me," Michael said.

"I'm not drunk," Carl chorused. Debbie just gave Michael a stern look.

"I know drunk," she said. "This is it." Debbie softly patted the arm that was wrapped around her waist and turned around before kissing him on the lips. "Drink some water, honey," she said as she pulled away.

"Okay, boss," Carl replied. Before Debbie walked away from the group of men, two-year-old Olivia reached her arms out toward her grandmother from Ted's embrace. She was on the verge of sleep, but when she saw her grandmother, she wanted to go with her. Every once in a while she needed some of Debbie's maternal love, especially being in the group of men all night. Not thinking twice about it, Debbie took Olivia into her arms.

"Too much testosterone, huh?" she asked. Without knowing what Debbie was talking about, Olivia just nodded her head as Debbie put her on her hip. Debbie laughed and kissed Olivia on the head before walking up the stairs to get the things she would need to help Charlie. When she had everything she needed, she handed a few of the pads she had gotten for Charlie to Olivia so she could hold them while they walked down the stairs. Olivia looked at the things she was holding with interest as she flipped them over in her hands.

When Debbie got to the bathroom door, she softly knocked and waited until Charlie let her in. When the door opened, she walked in and shut the door behind her.

"I brought you a few pads," she said as she took one of the pads Olivia was holding and passed it to Charlie. Charlie took it and looked at it. "All you have to do is put it in your panties and it'll collect the blood, sweetie," she added, picking up on the ten-year-old's confusion. When Olivia's fascination with the pads she was holding died down, she started handing them to Charlie. Both women started to laugh.

"Thank you, Liv," Charlie said. She then looked up to her grandmother. "How often does this happen?" she asked.

"You get your period every month," Debbie replied. "But while your body is still adjusting to the hormonal changes going on in your body, you might go a few months in between each period, which is totally normal." Charlie just nodded her head at the information.

"And I just use these?" she asked, referring to the pads in her hands.  
"Mhm," Debbie breathed. "Eventually you might start using tampons, but I wouldn't worry about those for a while. I would just stick with pads for now," she added. Charlie nodded her head as she thought over all the information she was getting.

"And all this means is that now I can have babies?" she asked.

"That's all it means," Debbie agreed. Charlie nodded her head again. She wasn't sure why her dads hadn't told her about all of this yet because it seemed pretty simple to her.

"Is that all that happens?" Charlie asked. "I just get my period every month?" she asked. Debbie nodded yes in response.

"Your boobs'll also gradually start to get bigger," Debbie said. She then looked down at Olivia, who was watching her curiously. "Isn't that right, honeybun?" she added in her baby voice. Olivia continued to watch Debbie as a big grin appeared on her face, happy to be away from all the men. She then turned back to Charlie. "But, again, I wouldn't worry about it," she added. Charlie just nodded her head before hugging her grandmother gratefully. When Debbie hugged her back, Charlie felt comfort wash over her from the hug.

"Thank you, Grams," she said, using the nickname she only used every once in a while affectionately. As Debbie was hugging her granddaughter, her other granddaughter patted Charlie on top of her head, which was her way of showing Charlie affection. Both women laughed as they pulled away from the hug. She then thought about it and didn't want to face her dad's quite yet. So she decided she would ask her grandmother if she could stay the night. "Can I stay the night?" she asked.

"Of course, honey," Debbie replied as she kissed the top of her head. "Now, we should go make sure Grandpa Carl isn't making a fool out of himself," she added and both of them did just that - make sure Carl wasn't making a fool out of himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Charlie was glad that she had asked to stay over at Debbie and Carl's house because when she woke up after having gone to bed a few hours before, she didn't feel good. Her lower back and stomach were cramping up and she had no idea why, but she figured it had to do with the fact that she had started her period. It had never happened before, so when it persisted after trying everything to stop the pain, she crawled out of Michael's old bed and wondered into the master bedroom, still half asleep. When she made it into the room and over to the bed, she crawled in next to Debbie. Being a light sleeper, Debbie woke up to the weight difference in the bed. Feeling the added heat from her granddaughter, she opened her eyes to the ten-year-old laying next to her.

"Is everything okay, sweetheart?" Debbie asked, sleep evident in her voice. Charlie cuddled up close to Debbie. Being so close to Debbie, who was very maternal, helped her feel better. Even if it didn't help the pain, emotionally it was nice being in close range with the woman.

"My lower back and stomach hurt," Charlie replied, sleep also evident in her voice. Debbie immediately recalled the conversation she had with Charlie earlier that night and knew that the pain she was feeling in her lower back and stomach were from having her period. Debbie moved around in bed so she was lying on her back and Charlie moved with her, resting her head in the crook of Debbie's shoulder, using it as a pillow. With all the movement, that's when Carl woke up to his wife talking to their granddaughter. He groaned internally, the headache from having had too much to drink starting to kick in.

"Those are just cramps, honey," she said, sleep still evident in her voice. Carl wasn't sure what they had been talking about until his wife mentioned cramps, then he had an idea.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. Hearing her grandfather's voice, Charlie moved around so her face was buried in the side of Debbie's chest, embarrassment taking over. Debbie smiled to herself as she moved the arm Charlie was using as a pillow so it was affectionately wrapped around Charlie's body. Charlie appreciated the gesture as Debbie started to rub her back.

"Everything's fine," she replied to Carl. "How's the head?" she asked, diverting the conversation away from the one she was having with Charlie.

"Throbbing," Carl replied. Debbie laughed. She knew he would be miserable. Even though she had only seen him drunk a handful of times, she could remember how hard the hangover had been for him.

"Why don't you go get some ibuprofen and bring some back for Charlie," Debbie replied. Carl quite liked that idea, so he rolled over onto his side, gave Debbie a quick peck on the lips and then got out of the bed, walking to the bathroom to get ibuprofen for him and his granddaughter. Debbie smiled as she kissed Carl back before he got out of bed.

When he did get out of bed, Debbie looked down at the girl lying next to her, cuddled into her body. Charlie's breathing had slowed down a bit, so she knew she was starting to fall back asleep again. She loved Michael and despite not being able to have more kids after him, she was glad she only had the one, but deep down she had wished she had someone to give the period talk to and now she can check it off her list.

"Feeling any better, sweetheart?" she asked as she watched Charlie's chest rise and fall with every breath. Charlie's eyes fluttered open and she sleepily smiled at Debbie as she nodded her head. That's when Carl came back into the room, three ibuprofen (one for Charlie and two for himself) and a glass of water. He crawled back into bed and passed Charlie her ibuprofen and handed her the glass of water.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she sat up for a few seconds, took the ibuprofen and took a sip of water. She then passed the glass back to Carl who mirrored Charlie's actions, placing the glass on the nightstand soon after. Charlie rested her head back in the crook of Debbie's shoulder. "Should my chest hurt, Grandma?" she asked quietly, hoping Carl didn't hear what she had asked. He had, but he acted like he didn't. He just moved around in bed until he was comfortable.

"That's normal," Debbie replied. She was slowly being pulled closer to sleep. "Now get some sleep, honey." Charlie just nodded her head and softly nudged Debbie's chest before obliging, falling asleep within a few minutes. Carl had been watching the entire exchange, a smile on his face. He could see how content Debbie was and he couldn't help but to softly laugh. Debbie looked over at him and smiled.

"What?" she asked.

"I have on content grandmother on my hands, don't I?" he asked as he leaned over and kissed Debbie softly and affectionately. Debbie kissed him back, just as softly and affectionately.

"You do," Debbie agreed. "And I have a very hungover grandfather on my hands, don't I?" she asked. Carl couldn't help but to chuckle softly again.

"You do," Carl agreed. "And a tired one too," he said as he let his hand wonder to Debbie's and intertwined their fingers. Debbie rolled her eyes and kissed him one more time before she let sleep take over, Carl following close behind.


End file.
